Raise a glass to a man who knew no bounds...
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Saturday, April 07, 2007
To Pierce or Not to Pierce? Is That Really the Question?
I accepted a long time ago that I couldn't get a piercing.
My reasoning, if you’re tough enough to have a piercing you should be tough enough to take a punch.
I have never been very good at taking a punch. I curl into a ball and wheeze like a broken bagpipe.
But that’s not to say I don’t empathize with my pierced brethren who are afraid to express themselves via a stud in the nose.
I too, know all too well what it is like to have to modify your appearance for the sake of “professionalism.”
I happen to be partial to a certain type of hairstyle known as the “mullet.” But as you can imagine the office doesn't lend itself to this particular look.
However, my hairstyle is not the point here. The real point is where does the office end and personal life begin?
Odds are very few employees out there are able to entirely be themselves in the workplace.
Majority of businesses’ exert some sort of dress code or policy on its employees.
But exactly how much control does a company hold over its workforce?
While an organization wants to present a professional image, whose to say someone who doesn't fit those conventional “norms” can’t be perfectly professional with a giant tattoo and tongue ring.
On the same token, when you go in for surgery would it make you comfortable if the last thing you saw was the doctor’s nose ring dangling above your head?
The core of this issue isn't piercings, tattoos or even hairstyles. It is people’s preconceived
notions.
Everyone has a stereotype in their mind about individuals based on appearance, whether they want to admit it or not.
Mine is that you have to be “tough” to get a piercing. That’s clearly absurd. I’ve seen infants with pierced ears.
And while a younger generation of workers may look different than their predecessors, odds are those professional stigmas and stereotypes will always exist in some form.
Which means no matter how much the work place evolves, there will still be some sort of restrictions placed on employees appearance.
Whether that is right or wrong is up to each individual to decide. Then celebrate that decision with a nose piercing or custom tattoo.
My reasoning, if you’re tough enough to have a piercing you should be tough enough to take a punch.
I have never been very good at taking a punch. I curl into a ball and wheeze like a broken bagpipe.
But that’s not to say I don’t empathize with my pierced brethren who are afraid to express themselves via a stud in the nose.
I too, know all too well what it is like to have to modify your appearance for the sake of “professionalism.”
I happen to be partial to a certain type of hairstyle known as the “mullet.” But as you can imagine the office doesn't lend itself to this particular look.
However, my hairstyle is not the point here. The real point is where does the office end and personal life begin?
Odds are very few employees out there are able to entirely be themselves in the workplace.
Majority of businesses’ exert some sort of dress code or policy on its employees.
But exactly how much control does a company hold over its workforce?
While an organization wants to present a professional image, whose to say someone who doesn't fit those conventional “norms” can’t be perfectly professional with a giant tattoo and tongue ring.
On the same token, when you go in for surgery would it make you comfortable if the last thing you saw was the doctor’s nose ring dangling above your head?
The core of this issue isn't piercings, tattoos or even hairstyles. It is people’s preconceived
notions.
Everyone has a stereotype in their mind about individuals based on appearance, whether they want to admit it or not.
Mine is that you have to be “tough” to get a piercing. That’s clearly absurd. I’ve seen infants with pierced ears.
And while a younger generation of workers may look different than their predecessors, odds are those professional stigmas and stereotypes will always exist in some form.
Which means no matter how much the work place evolves, there will still be some sort of restrictions placed on employees appearance.
Whether that is right or wrong is up to each individual to decide. Then celebrate that decision with a nose piercing or custom tattoo.
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